Past reveals truth about Rouhani

Columbia Daily Tribune

Hassan Rouhani — the current president of Iran — is a master of political deception. He has the world convinced that he is a "moderate" and that he is different than those who preceded him. Unfortunately for the people of Iran and the Middle East, this is not true.

To argue against the premise that Rouhani is a moderate, all you need to do is look at his past. The Guardian Council approved his election after he demonstrated his full allegiance to absolute rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even a man like Hashemi Rafsanjani could not pass these tests — this shows just how much of an extremist Rouhani really is.

Hassan Rouhani — the current president of Iran — is a master of political deception. He has the world convinced that he is a "moderate" and that he is different than those who preceded him. Unfortunately for the people of Iran and the Middle East, this is not true.
To argue against the premise that Rouhani is a moderate, all you need to do is look at his past. The Guardian Council approved his election after he demonstrated his full allegiance to absolute rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even a man like Hashemi Rafsanjani could not pass these tests — this shows just how much of an extremist Rouhani really is.

The past 34 years have shown the true murderous and evil soul of Rouhani. He has been a member of the Supreme Defense Council, the deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces and secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. All of this during the time that the United States and others have suspected and accused Iran of developing nuclear weapon capabilities.

Recently President Barack Obama held a 15-minute phone call with Rouhani during which the regime's move toward nuclear armament was discussed. Although reports of the phone call have been positive, why should anyone believe a man who was so instrumental in the regime's nuclear development in the first place? This is the same man who has shown that his only objective is to increase the regime's influence and power in the Middle East.

Rouhani's past is littered with murder. He is merely an instrument of a regime focused on sweeping its opposition off the face of the Earth. Any appearances of negotiation with the United States are purely a political shell game, focusing the attention of the world on the left hand while the right hand carries out atrocities against those who dare oppose the regime.

The United States should remember that this is the same man who has continuously boasted of tricking and duping the West while doing the bidding of the regime. After all, this man was the chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005 — he is keenly aware of Iran's nuclear capabilities and the ambitions the regime has of creating a full-scale nuclear arsenal.

While the Western media continue to portray Rouhani as a moderate, he continues to rain death upon any who stand in the way of his regime. In his short time as president, more than 200 people have been executed in Iran, many of them women. That hardly seems like the actions of a moderate.

And he also oversaw a deadly attack on Camp Ashraf in Iraq on Sept. 1. This attack resulted in the deaths of 52 unarmed people, many while handcuffed and others while trying to receive medical treatment for their injuries. Seven camp members, six of them women, were taken hostage and are still held captive by Iraqi government and face the prospect of being handed over to Tehran. They belonged to the main Iranian opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which the regime in Iran views as an existential threat.

The attack drew the outrage of dozens of lawmakers from both chambers. Our own Sen. Roy Blunt reminded Secretary of State John Kerry that the United States had been "committed to protecting them [the residents]" and that it has "a moral, if not a legal, obligation to follow through on that commitment." He also expressed concern about the fate of the seven hostages. And at a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and John McCain, R-Ariz., called on the State Department to ensure the release of the hostages and the safety of the remaining residents at Camp Liberty. The committee chairman and his Republican colleague called the deaths of these Iranian dissidents "unacceptable" and warned that if Iraq continues committing such atrocities, the United States should reconsider weapons sales to Iraq.

The West, so hopeful for peace in the region, has overlooked the regime's actions or sweeps them under the rug to maintain the ruse that Rouhani is somehow something other than what he really is — an instrument of terror wielded mercilessly by the regime in Tehran.

While President Obama lauds Iran for this telephone call, he should also be wary of true intentions of Rouhani and the regime in Tehran: a world free of those who oppose them.

Kasra Nejat of St. Louis is president of the Iranian-American Cultural Association of Missouri.